Tuesday's papers

The Independent call it a victory for a crooked, corrupt and discredited government.

Hamid Karzai has been declared re-elected as President of the country for the next five years though his allies inside and outside Afghanistan know that he owes his success to open fraud. Instead of increasing his government's legitimacy, the poll has further de-legitimised it.

says the paper

According to the Times

Western leaders, desperate to end a crisis that has undermined their efforts to defeat the Taleban, rushed to endorse the decision by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and congratulate Mr Karzai.

The Guardian says that pressure was growing on Hamid Karzai today to form a unity government adding that

Diplomats and world leaders warned that he must reach out to Abdullah after the IEC, which has been heavily criticised for being biased in the president's favour, declared that Karzai would serve another five years in office.

Meanwhile its front page carries a picture of Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George Schmid, 30,who

died instantly on Saturday while trying to make safe an improvised explosive device in the Sangin region of Helmand province,

Most of the papers carry the story that David Cameron is to tell the British people that a Conservative government will not give them a referendum on the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty.

It is the lead in the Telegraph which reminds its readers that

Mr Cameron gave voters an “iron-clad” promise in 2007 that a Conservative government would hold a popular vote on Lisbon

Mr Cameron began preparing yesterday for what diehard sceptics will see as a climbdown. He acknowledged openly for the first time that his party may not be able to hold a promised referendum on the treaty before it becomes law.says the Times

It leads with news that tThe Home Secretary admitted yesterday that the Government had made mistakes in its handling of immigration and had overreacted to the 7/7 bombings in London.

In his first speech on the subject, Alan Johnson said that ministers had ignored immigration problems and the growing pressure on jobs and services in parts of Britain. Some communities had legitimate concerns because they had been particularly affected.

Meanwhile the Guardian says that

The government had already ordered an inquiry into the future operation of the panel of scientists advising the Home Office on drug policy before the controversial sacking of its chairman,

The Independent reports that

In a letter to Mr Johnson yesterday, the council said that while it had not been possible to contact all 28 remaining members – two resigned at the weekend – "it is clear that a majority of the council have serious concerns" about Professor Nutt's dismissal and the future of the council.

Most of the papers report that Royal Mail is to face legal action over the recruitment of 30,000 agency staff during the bitter postal strike, according to the Communication Workers Union.

Meanwhile a A YouGov poll conducted for the Telegraph finds that

an equal amount of people blame the union for the action as they do the management (25 per cent each). Some 44 per cent of people said "both equally" were to blame. Only a fortnight ago, 28 per cent blamed the management and 21 the union.

A heartbroken mother took centre stage on Monday as the High Court was asked to let her seriously disabled son die.says the Mail adding that

She is backing a hospital's application for the year-old baby to be taken off life support.The baby's father, however, insists he must live and says a simple operation could even lead to him being cared for at home.

According to the lead in the Guardian

Thousands of families could lose out on free pre-school education due to a funding crisis that is forcing state-run nurseries to lay off staff, increase class sizes and in some cases close.

Miliband met by icy reception on debut mission to Moscow reports the Independent

The British Foreign Secretary's trip was the highest-ranking official British visit to Russia in years. But his Russian counterparty, Sergey Lavrov, made it clear that Mr Miliband's efforts to secure the extradition of the former security agent and current MP Andrei Lugovoi, as well as to make progress on a range of other issues that plague bilateral relations, would come to naught.

The Guardian reports that

The British mercenary Simon Mann, who was sentenced to 34 years in prison in Equatorial Guinea last year for plotting to overthrow the oil-rich country's government, has been granted a presidential pardon.

The Times says that the

Somali pirates who kidnapped a British couple last month were preparing to defend their hostages from Islamist extremists, who they said were heading to the area with plans to seize them.

4 out of 10 households get their rent paid by the taxpayer in the parts of Britain most blighted by benefits dependency.is the lead in the Express adding that

Figures released by the Conservatives last night showed that the annual cost of housing benefit has soared by an eye- watering £2.7billion under Labour, with almost a quarter of all households across London dependent on the allowance.

Finally the Sun carries the latest on Micheal Barrymore whom it says

is reduced to mucking out a pal's garage.
Barrymore, once host of ITV's prime-time show Strike It Lucky, now spends his weekends polishing cars, clearing junk and sweeping the forecourt.